Age of Innocence
by SpiderMonkeyLove23
Summary: Bella never thought that she'd see her husband Jacob again after his death, but when a child of his from a previous relationship comes into the picture, how will she handle raising his little girl and coping with the loss of her one true love? All human.
1. Chapter 1

_**So this is just the prologue to the story. The actual chapters will be longer in due time! And sorry if this wasn't very realistic. I'm no legal expert or anything. Haha let me know your thoughts in the review!**_

_**Bella's POV**_

_Jacob. My Jacob._

Before all of our friends, I laid next to his cold corpse. His russet skin had gone pale and every ounce of life that had once lit my world was gone. Now, all he was was nothing. Just a body that would never hold me or touch me or kiss me. How had things come to this?

I knew that his heart condition would turn fatal eventually but I never anticipated things to progress as quickly as they did. I thought I would have a few more months and if I was lucky, even a year. Now, I would never know what it was like to grow old together and watch our grandchildren play in the front yard.

"We got married a week ago," I said, fighting the lump in my throat. "A week ago, he said 'I do' and today, he's dead. That's kind of ridiculous, ya know?"

It was then that I could no longer hold back the tears that were fighting so hard to fall. I suddenly began convulse, making it hard to breathe. I could no longer see through the tears that were falling from my eyes.

"I'll never get to see him again," I sobbed, digging my head into the crook of his neck. I didn't object when I felt a pair of large arms lift me from the bed. Emmett stroked my hair and rocked me as I continued weeping.

My body continued to rock with each sob, the tears forming a stain on Emmett's shirt. This was the only moment that losing my composure before anybody was alright. I was known as Bella, Jacob's doting, calm wife.

That was now not the case.

"Let's take you home," Emmett said, rising from the couch. I kept my head in his shoulders as he carried me from the room. "Hello, officer. Can we help you?"

"I need to speak with Mrs. Black," the officer said gruffly. I lifted my head to see a middle aged police officer standing before us, his lips in a hard, straight line. Emmett nodded and reluctantly placed me on the ground.

"We'll be over here," he whispered, slowly backing up with everybody else.

"Mrs. Black, were you aware that Jacob had a daughter?" he said.

_A daughter? _

"N-no," I stammered. "He never mentioned it."

"Right now, we have a four year old female in custody and on the birth certificate; Mr. Black is listed as the father. Her mother appointed him as legal guardian if anything was to happen to her. We've tried contacting other family but she doesn't seem to be wanted. I understand that you were married?"

"Yes," I nodded stiffly, afraid of where this conversation was headed. "It happened just recently, actually."

"You know that legally, you are responsible for all of Mr. Black's assets, correct?"

"I guess," I said quietly.

"I'm sorry to spring this decision on you so quickly but as of now, you have sole custody of this little girl. I know this couldn't have come at a worse time but with both of her parents now deceased and you the wife of her father, we have no choice but to grant you custody."

So, somehow, even with my husband dead, I was still the mother of his child.


	2. 1 week

**_Thank you so much to those that have actually read this! The one review I got on the first chapter made me really want to update so I did! Don't criticize me on my medical information! Wikipedia only gave me so much information!_**

**_Disclaimer: SMeyer owns the Twilight series! I just own Jacob's daughter!_**

_1 week ago…_

"By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband in wife," the preacher said happily before the small wedding crowd. "You may now kiss your bride."

Wiping away my tears, Jacob smiled widely and placed his hands on my waist. I sighed happily before he pulled me in and placed his lips upon mine in our first kiss as a married couple. With my bouquet still in my hands, I threw my arms around his neck and didn't pull away before we heard Alice clearing her throat quietly.

"Were married," he murmured happily to me as we turned towards the crowd and headed down the aisle. "It's you and me, baby girl."

"Thank goodness," I breathed loudly in relief, ready for the real festivities to begin.

My maid of honor and best friend, Alice Cullen, proved to be extremely tedious when it came to taking the wedding photos. The frustration on the photographers face was clear and somewhat comical as she tried to do her job and Alice kept getting in her way.

She seemed all too relieved when we were finally done and able to go the reception. I linked my arm with Jacob's and made my way to the large white tent propped up in the large backyard of the Black family

"And now, introducing for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Black!" Embry cheered excitedly as Jacob and I entered the tent. The crowd erupted into loud cheers as he pulled me into yet another kiss. "Somebody pull those two apart!" he joked.

I blushed deeply and took his hand as we ventured into the crowd, hugging and receiving congratulations from each person we came across.

"Oh Bella," my mother gasped. Her eyes were rimmed red, showing she'd been crying quite heavily. "You look so beautiful. You and Jacob were meant for each other, sweet heart. I couldn't think of a more perfect couple. The dress is gorgeous. Did Alice pick it out? That explains why it's so elaborate," she turned towards Jacob. "I am so glad that my Bella finally found somebody so perfect! And she didn't even have to be pregnant for it to happen!"

"Mom!" I exclaimed, a brush creeping across my cheeks. "Thank you for coming. We're just going to go. And why don't we lay off the alcohol?"

"I'm fine," she smiled, turning around to walk to the food table. Jacob and I laughed quietly before taking our place at the wedding party table as Emmett tinked his glass with a spoon. I was almost positive I had discussed no speeches with him and the rest of the party, but I shouldn't have been surprised that he didn't listen.

"I'd just like to propose a toast," he began in his booming voice. "To my baby Bella and my new best friend Jake. These two… well they were kind of meant for each other. Sure, they hated each other when they first met two years ago but time changes everything! I'm so glad that Bella found somebody that is as perfect for her as Jacob is. And I know I'm not very good at making speeches or anything but Bella, I'm glad that you're my best friend. I guess we have Alice to thank for that…as much as I don't like to admit that."

The last line got a small rise from the crowd. Even Alice cracked a smile at Emmett's lame joke. Both of the Cullen siblings had befriended me when I transferred into Forks High School.

"Anyways, Jake you better treat her right," he smirked, raising his champagne flute. "To a life of happiness."

"To happiness," the crowd cheered.

The rest of the night continued on without a hitch. More toasts were given, more dances danced. I hadn't expected my wedding to go as smoothly as it did. The fact that Jacob seemed winded after a couple of dances should have set off an alarm in my mind, but it didn't.

"Your car is here!" Alice exclaimed, pulling Jacob and I towards the door. With a grimace on his face, he placed his hand over his heart. "You alright Jacob?"

"Yeah," he said, a smile replacing the grimace. "I'm cool."

Worried, I followed Alice out to the drive way where the crowd had parted and were now throwing rice through the air. I clutched Jacob's hand tightly and began to walk towards the car but he stopped immediately.

"Jake, what's wrong?" I asked, concerned. Once again, he was clutching his chest. Had his face gone paler? "Are you alright, honey?"

"Yeah… I'm…fine," his voice trailed off and he suddenly fell to the ground.

"Jake!" I cried, falling to my knees at his side. "Somebody call an ambulance!"

"He's going to be okay, Bells," Rosalie, another one of my close friends, said to me as we sat in the waiting room. After the ambulance had arrived, he'd been wheeled into a room that I wasn't permitted to enter, so I'd been sent here. Half an hour felt like an eternity. "Nothing is going to happen."

I was joined by the entire wedding party, which must have looked ridiculous. None of us had bothered to change out of our wedding attire.

"He was fine," I sobbed, my eyes glued to the beige walls. "An hour ago, he was fine."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Emmett consoled me, rubbing my back in small circles. Alice and Rosalie were also there, comforting me and attempting to convince me that things were fine. "Just stay positive."

I shook them off and stood from the couch. Pacing seemed to be the only thing that would keep me sane at this point. How had something like this happened? Should I have been more attentive to his health?

"Mrs. Black," the doctor suddenly called. My head snapped in the direction of the elderly doctor walking towards me. My heart began doing back flips in my chest, itching for some good news. "We've run some tests on your husband and it seems that Jacob has a condition known as HCM or Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy."

"What does that mean?" I breathed.

"HCM is the thickening of the heart muscle. There is no obvious cause. Is Jacob very athletic?"

"He runs all the time," I said sadly. "Does that have something to do with it?"

"HCM is one of the most common causes of cardiac arrest in young athletes."

"So…he went into cardiac arrest?" I sobbed. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Only time will tell," she nodded. "Were keeping him overnight for observation. If his situation doesn't improve, he may have to be put on the donor list for a heart transplant."

"But it was so sudden," I sobbed, new tears welling in my eyes. "He was fine earlier today. I mean, aren't there symptoms for this kind of thing? Sure he a little tired after we danced but doesn't that just happen?"

"Although it is rare, these kinds of things can go undetected and show at very random times. His labored breathing after dancing was probably a sign. But we will do everything we can to save your husband."

She looked me over with a smile.

"Congratulations," she said somewhat happily before walking away.

As the doctor walked away, I was left feeling lifeless, like maybe I was dreaming. That was the only reasoning I could come up with as to why this would happen to Jacob and I. No woman should ever go from being a brand new bride to possible widow in the same night.

"What'd they say?" Alice asked as I returned to my seat.

"He has some heart condition called HCM," I rasped. "The doctor said that he might need a heart transplant."

"Oh Bella," Alice cried softly, taking me into her arms. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," I muttered. "He's going to be fine."

Over the course of the next few days, I repeated my mantra, though Jacob showed no signs of improvement. He didn't wake up at all, not even a twitching of the hand. The doctors notified me that he had been put on the donor list and as soon as a heart was available, he would receive it.

Alice, Emmett, Rosalie and even Emmett and Alice's older brother Edward—with who I knew little about—kept me company at the hospital, bringing me clothes though I felt no need to change and clean clothes though I felt no need to change.

"I know we don't really know each other," Edward said to me one night as I sat by Jacob's bed. Edward had been at the wedding and said congratulations when they were due but other than that, I hadn't spoken more than two words to him. "But I'm sorry that this happened."

"Thank you, Edward," I forced a smile. Edward was a young, single man, though I couldn't see why. With his firm jaw and piercing Jade eyes, he seemed like he could get any woman he wanted. "But you don't have to say sorry. It's nobody's fault but my own."

"It's not your fault," he said, sitting on the couch. "Nobody can know about a heart condition. This is just life playing a cruel joke. Look, before you know it, Jacob will be back on his feet in no time."

As if that comment had pissed life off even more, the monitor suddenly went blank and that monotonous beeping I'd become so accustomed to turned into a steady hum.

_Jacob was flat lining. _

"Nurse!" I cried. They all rushed in in a frenzy. Before I knew it, I was blinded by my own tears and being pushed from the room. "Save him!"

I sobbed heavily as I watched them pump Jacob's chest, a fierce expression on the doctor's face. Emmett held me as we watched painfully until they looked at the clock and back to Jacob.

"No!" I sobbed, falling to my knees. "No!"

I pushed past everyone to get into the room where my dead husband now lay. My sadness was slowly turning into anger. I wanted to scream. I wanted to scream as loud as my lungs would allow.

"Jacob!" I sobbed, grabbing him tightly. "Jacob, wake up! Wake up, please!"

I continued crying as the doctors left the room one by one.

I remained that way for what seemed like hours.

_Jacob. My Jacob._

Before all of our friends, I laid next to his cold corpse. His russet skin had gone pale and every ounce of life that had once lit my world was gone. Now, all he was was nothing. Just a body that would never hold me or touch me or kiss me. How had things come to this?

Somehow, I knew that this HCM thing wouldn't turn into anything good, but never had I anticipated that it would progress this quickly? If only I could have known that I would lose my husband just a week after marrying him.

"We got married a week ago," I said, fighting the lump in my throat. "A week ago, he said 'I do' and today, he's dead. That's kind of ridiculous, ya know?"

It was then that I could no longer hold back the tears that were fighting so hard to fall. I suddenly began convulse, making it hard to breathe. I was blinded by the tears that were falling from my eyes.

"I'll never get to see him again," I sobbed, digging my head into the crook of his neck. I didn't object when I felt a pair of large arms lift me from the bed. Emmett stroked my hair and rocked me as I continued weeping.

My body continued to rock with each sob, the tears forming a stain on Emmett's shirt. This was the only moment that losing my composure before anybody was alright. I was known as Bella, Jacob's doting, calm wife.

That was now not the case.

"Let's take you home," Emmett said, rising from the couch. I kept my head in his shoulders as he carried me from the room. "Hello, officer. Can we help you?"

"I need to speak with Mrs. Black," the officer said gruffly. I lifted my head to see a middle aged police officer standing before us, his lips in a hard, straight line. Emmett nodded and reluctantly placed me on the ground.

"We'll be over here," he whispered, slowly backing up with everybody else.

"Mrs. Black, were you aware that Jacob had a daughter?" he said.

_A daughter? _

"N-no," I stammered. "He never mentioned it."

"Right now, we have a four year old female in custody and on the birth certificate; Mr. Black is listed as the father. Her mother appointed him as legal guardian if anything was to happen to her. We've tried contacting other family but she doesn't seem to be wanted. I understand that you were married?"

"Yes," I nodded stiffly, afraid of where this conversation was headed. "It happened just recently, actually."

"You know that legally, you are responsible for all of Mr. Black's assets, correct?"

"I guess," I said quietly.

"I'm sorry to spring this decision on you so quickly but as of now, you have sole custody of this little girl. I know this couldn't have come at a worse time but with both of her parents now deceased and you the wife of her father, we have no choice but to grant you custody."

So, somehow, even with my husband dead, I was still the mother of his child.

"_Custody?" _I cried. "My husband died a couple of hours ago and I'm being granted custody of his four year old daughter that neither he nor I knew anything about? How is this fair? I haven't even had time to grieve officer!"

"If you could just come down to the station and we can sort this out."

"Now?" I choked.

"As soon as possible. Ma'am, I understand that this is a tough time for you and you are grieving the loss of your husband but if this little girl doesn't find a home, she will be handed over to the state and you know as well as I do that no child deserves that kind of life."

I stared into the officers eyes and I swore I almost saw a gleam of sadness in his eyes and for some unknown reason, that look made me actually contemplate meeting this child down at the station. He _was _right. Nobody deserved the awful life of state custody.

So now I had a child to take care of _and_ a funeral to plan?

God must really dislike me.


	3. It's us now

_**So my plan is to get at least one more review each chapter. So, this chapter I want three reviews, if that isn't too much to ask. If I accomplish that goal in reasonable time, I'll update quickly. I plan on updating quicker but that would just speed up the process. Also, I would have updated this quicker BUT today was a traveling day so I didn't get too much time but here I am with another update! Writing is great to do in cars!**_

_**Disclaimer: You know the drill. Don't own Twilight. Never will.**_

That night, I didn't sleep.

I knew that if I slept, I would see him. I would see his smile, I would hear his laugh. I would begin to cry even more due to the fact that my arms would forever be empty. I couldn't face the other side of the bed, as it was still perfectly made from before the wedding. Everything seemed the same, yet so different. His pictures were still on my dresser, his clothes still in my closet. A large part of me wanted it to stay like that forever, though I knew it wouldn't.

I knew tomorrow would also be terrible, as I was coming face to face with his child that I'd never been told about. Had he known about her? Had he secretly been contacting her? Thinking about this made me realize how little Jacob and I truly knew about one another. And I was sure this child was grieving over the loss of her mother. Two grieving people were never made to match.

"Bella..?" I suddenly heard, causing me to shoot upright. "Bella are you awake?"

Warily, I walked over to my bedroom door and flipped on the light before opening it. When I did, I came face to face with Alice.

"Alice, it's three in the morning, why are you here?" I asked.

"I couldn't sleep," she said quietly. "I was worried about you. Emmett, Edward and Jasper were going to join me but I told them not to."

Alice and Jasper had recently begun seeing each other and already, I could see nothing but great things for the couple. They were made for each other, though they'd kept a safe distance during the week at the hospital.

"I'm fine," I lied, walking towards my bed. I was far from fine. I would never be fine. I'd been clutching his old tee shirt all night. "You didn't need to come over here."

"Bella," she sighed, joining me on the bed. "Your husband died about six hours ago. You are not fine. Don't even try to lie to me."

I sighed and threw my head down on the pillow, facing opposite Jacob's side. I wanted to object when Alice took a seat, but I couldn't bring myself to speak up. So she and I sat in silence.

"Jacob has a daughter," I finally said, breaking the silence.

"What?" she gasped, scooting closer. "Is that what the cops were talking to you about?"

"Yeah," I nodded stiffly. "They want me to take her in as a guardian so she doesn't have to be turned over to the state. I don't know if I can do it, Alice. How can I keep somebody that is a mini version of Jacob? Having to look into her eyes everyday and seeing my dead husband and her dead father doesn't seem very fun."

"Wow," she sighed loudly. "Nobody expects anything out of you, Bells. You just lost your true love. Tell them that you can't handle that responsibility right now. "

"How is that fair to her?" I spat through the oncoming tears. I turned around to face Alice who was staring at me intently. Alice didn't normally find herself in the position of being asked advice for anything but fashion or design. "I have to at least go down there."

"Then go down there," she sighed. "Do whatever you feel comfortable doing. Were in charge of the funeral from here on out. Don't even try to argue."

I sighed inwardly and closed my eyes. I knew that arguing with Alice was pointless so the only thing I really could do was sit back and watch from the sidelines, even though I should have had the responsibility of planning my husband's funeral.

"Alice," I said, my eyes still closed. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure," she said.

And for hours, we laid in bed, talking about times when things didn't seem so terrible and the times when we didn't need to know more than how to parallel park. We reminisced about everything we possibly could, just trying to figure out what had happened just hours ago.

"I should probably go home," she said once dawn began to break. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. "When I told Billy…I've never heard him react like that to anything. He was just so… sad. I don't think I'll ever be able to unsee the image of him sobbing the way he was."

"Yeah," she muttered. "Call me if you need _anything._"

"Thanks, Alice."

After she left, I decided to drag myself out of bed and take a nice, deserving shower—since I hadn't done so since Jacob had been admitted. While the hot water felt nice upon my skin, I missed Jacob's arms around my waist. Once the shower was finished, I prepared breakfast and made a call down to the station.

"So is 9 alright?" I asked in regards to meeting the little girl.

"That would be great," they answered lifelessly. Without another word, the line went dead.

With time to kill, I did my best to keep myself busy. I cleaned the spotless house and made sure I had _some _food available to the child. Jacob and I were notorious for eating out, so to keep decent food in the house was rare. I would need to go to the store and stock up.

"Yeah, I'm headed down there right now," I told Emmett over the phone as I left my house two and a half hours later. He'd called me in a frenzy over the news of Jacob's child—Alice had probably broken it to him.

"Wow, Bells," he said. "You gotta bring her over to the house so we can meet her."

"I will, Emmett," I muttered. "I've gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

I hung up the phone and tossed it into my passenger's seat as I pulled from the driveway. As I neared the station, my thoughts began to scramble.

How would I handle a child? The only experience I had with children was babysitting in high school and I'd only done that once or twice. Jacob and I had decided on having children later on in life, but had he said that knowing he already had a daughter?

Would she look like him? Would she have his admirable eyes? Or his strong jaw structure? Though I loved Jacob with my whole heart, he did have his negative qualities. What if she inherited his stubbornness? What if she was cursed with his nasty temper? Even through all of the negative, I would accept her as she was. There was even the possibility of loving her. I knew eventually it would come to that.

Was that terrible to say that _eventually_ I would love the child? That had to be normal coming from a woman who just lost her husband and was now raising his child that he may or may not have known about. As any normal woman of my age with a child, I would treat her as she deserved to be treated. I would provide for her and comfort her when she needed it. I would dance when she wanted me to dance and even pretend when she decided she wanted to play _house._

All these thoughts and more ran rampant through my head as I pulled into the police station and slowly made my way inside.

"Mrs. Black," the same officer from the hospital nodded at me as I walked towards him. I forced a smile and returned the nod. "Were glad you could make it. Follow me."

I followed him farther into the station where we were greeted by a woman who looked no older than I did. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun and thin glasses balanced on the bridge of her nose. She smiled cordially.

"Hello, Bella," she said in her soprano voice, holding out a hand. "I'm Lauren Mallory, Bethany's social worker."

_Bethany_. In my days of doll playing and dressing up, every toy of mine would be named Bethany or something close to it. Who could have known that I would end up raising a child with that very name.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," she said, her voice suddenly lower. " I know that this must be a very difficult time for you but we do have a very important matter to discuss and that is the welfare of this child. If you follow me, you can meet her."

She and I walked a little further until we came to a small room where a young girl played with her back to the window. Her head immediately snapped in our direction when she heard the door open.

"Bethany," Lauren said in a motherly tone. "This is Bella."

Tears welled in my eyes as Bethany stood and walked over to where we stood.

She _was _Jacob—in female form of course. She had inherited his Raven hair and doe eyes. They were as dark as her hair with small flecks of green. Her features were much softer, though I could still see Jacob. Her skin was lighter and coated with light freckles that spilled over the bridge of her nose and onto her cheeks.

She was beautiful.

"Hi," she said in a small voice, clutching Lauren's legs.

"Hi," I said as tears began to pour from my eyes. I squatted down to her level and stroked her cheek softly. "You're very pretty."

"So are you," she smiled slightly.

Those three words tugged at my heartstrings, causing the view of my entire world to change. There was no question as to whether or not I would raise her. I would protect her from any dangers she had yet to face yet spoil her with what I could. I would love her unconditionally and that would never change.

How had three words changed my view so completely?

"I'll let you two get acquainted," Lauren said, slipping from the room.

"What are you playing?" I asked Bethany, eyeing the Barbie dolls scattered along the room. She stared at me curiously as I picked up one of the dolls and examined it with interest. "I used to love Barbie dolls."

"You did?" her face seemed to light up at this statement.

"I did," I grinned. This grin wasn't forced. "I had lots of them when I was your age."

She opened her mouth to speak but we were interrupted by the loud vibration of my cell phone.

_**We have a surprise for you at the house. You can thank Emmett, Rosalie, Edward and I later. My parents chipped in too. We all love you so much and can't wait to meet that little girl.**_

_** Alice.**_

"Let's go talk to Ms. Mallory," I said once I'd put the phone away. Bethany nodded and followed me out to where Lauren was talking to a man I'd never seen before. I assumed he was just another police officer, since he was in his uniform.

"Bethany, you're gonna go with Bella," Lauren smiled. "You won't have to stay here anymore."

I stared down at Bethany, wondering how she would react to leaving this place. I hadn't even bothered to ask anybody what had happened to this little girl's mother or where the rest of her family seemed to be.

"Am I gonna see you again?" she asked Lauren sadly, her dark eyes twinkling.

"Of course," Lauren answered enthusiastically. "But you have to go with Miss Bella now, okay?"

She looked to me as if she needed assurance and then nodded.

"I'll come for a visit in a few weeks," Lauren said, looking at Lauren, though I knew that comment was directed at me.

"I don't even have a carseat," I began to panic. How had I forgotten something so important? Would they let me take her without one? "Can I still take her?"

"I've got one in the car," Lauren said, relieving me immensely. Bethany, Lauren and I walked out to the lot where I was handed the car seat and our goodbyes were said. Bethany seemed a bit reluctant to be leaving with a complete stranger but she willingly climbed into the backseat which I took as a good scene.

"Are we gonna go to your house?" she asked from the backseat. I nodded and smiled through the mirror.

"But we have to go to the store first. Is that alright?"

"Yeah," she muttered.

I smiled at the little girl and for a split second, I'd forgotten about my grief and sadness. But I knew it wasn't a lasting effect and that another breakdown was clearly in my future. I would just have to hide it for the sake of Bethany.

**As always, please review!**


	4. Oh Beth what can I do?

_**While this story isn't successful, thank you to the people that take the time to read and review this! You're support is what keeps me writing these updates! So thank you!**_

_**The title of this song comes from the song Beth by Kiss. I love it! You should look it up!**_

_**Disclaimer: Yes. I own Bethany. No. I don't own Twilight. **_

"You have very pretty eyes," I told Bethany as we strolled through the aisles of the grocery store. She stayed focused on the Barbie doll that sat in her lap as she stroked her light hair.

"Thank you," she replied softly. So at least she'd been taught manners. "Can I get some juice?"

"Of course," I smiled sadly. "What kind?"

On our way here, I had been informed that Jacob's funeral was being held tomorrow and while Bethany was a nice distraction, the pain of the loss was still extremely immense. My acting skills were proving to be top notch, as I was doing an excellent job at masking my emotions in front of Bethany. In the hour and a half that I'd known the child before me, I'd already fought that lump in my throat at least twice.

"Apple," she beamed, her face lighting up instantly. "Mommy always gave me apple juice."

That was the first time I'd heard her mention the word 'mommy'. Surprisingly, her face didn't fall at the mention. The bright, toothy smile was still upon her lips.

"Where is mommy, Bethany?" I asked warily, knowing I was entering dangerous territory. Her eyebrows then furrowed, as if she was trying to remember the answer to the question being asked.

"Well Ms. Lauren said that mommy is in heaven with the angels," she answered no differently than if I had asked her her own name. "And she also said that mommy can always see me, but I can't see her."

Once again, the lump was back. This time the tears weren't so easy to hide and they silently began to stream down my cheeks as we continued walking down the aisles

Once we were done at the grocery store and I had enough food to last a life time, I poured Bethany apple juice in one of my newly purchased sippy cups and drove home. When I pulled into the driveway, I surprisingly found my garage door already open.

"That's weird," I said to myself as I lifted Bethany from her car seat. Holding onto her cup and the Barbie, she watched me curiously as I slowly approached the house.

"You're home!" Alice suddenly squealed as she Emmett, Rosalie and Edward ran from the house. They all stopped at the site of Bethany cowering behind me. Alice's eyes went wide and a large grin crept across her small face. "Bella she's adorable!"

"Bethany, sweetie," I said quietly. "This is Alice."

She gave a small wave but did not show herself completely.

"And that's Rosalie and Emmett and Edward. They are all very excited to meet you."

"They are?" she whispered in surprise. As if this was the only support she needed, she slowly showed herself to my crowd of friends. I didn't know it was possible for Alice and Rosalie to smile brighter than they actually were but they squealed loudly and surrounded her immediately.

"How are you, Bella?" Edward asked, assisting me with the groceries.

"Uh, Bells, we already got you a ton of groceries," Emmett laughed lightly, scratching the back of my head. I nearly dropped the bags in my hands as my face fell. "We actually got you a lot of stuff."

"What am I supposed to do with all this food?" I sighed. Edward simply shrugged and assisted me with the groceries I found I didn't even need.

Once inside, I was blown away by the transformation my house had undergone. My living room had been turned into a playroom, toys neatly placed in every corner. Countless children's DVDS had been neatly organized in my entertainment system and I had enough food to last a lifetime.

"Toys!" Bethany exclaimed, running past me.

"Did you do all of this?" I asked my friends breathlessly. Rosalie grinned widely and nodded. "Wow…thank you guys. _So _much."

"We ordered all of the furniture for her bedroom and it's supposed to be here within two to three business days. I think you'll love it," Emmett beamed. With tears welling in my eyes, I wrapped my arms around them.

"We also have this for you," Edward smiled, pulling a small card from his pocket.

In that moment, I realized how truly breathtaking he was. His eyes were a deep Jade, contrasting perfectly with his alabaster skin. His jaw was taut, yet just as soft. His face was angelic in every part aspect, which clearly came from his beautiful parents. The entire Cullen family could have been gods and goddesses at one point in time.

"What is this?" I sobbed, staring at the card. "A pottery barn kids gift card?"

"So you can design her room the way you want," Alice chuckled. "The bed spread is pink and the furniture is white but they have a ton of stuff. It's where we got all of the furniture and toys and stuff. Do you like everything?"

"I love it. Thank you guys _so _much."

"Can we play with her?" Rosalie and Alice asked excitedly, glancing over at Bethany who was happily playing with her Barbie dolls in the new house that had been purchased. I gave them a happy nod and they raced over to her side immediately.

"I'm coming too!" Emmett exclaimed, leaving Edward and I alone in the overstocked kitchen.

"You seem awfully strong for a woman who just lost her husband yesterday," he commented.

"Well I haven't really had time to actually grieve," I shrugged. "I'm responsible for somebody now and I don't want her to see me as somebody who isn't strong. Maybe when I'm alone, I'll start feeling it more, like last night. But right now, I have to stay strong for the sake of that little girl."

She seemed to be taking quite nicely to the three adults crowded around her. Emmett was acting as the Ken doll and Rosalie, Bethany and Alice were the three Barbie dolls fawning over him. It was amusing to watch Emmett talk for a doll.

"She, too, seems pretty strong. Didn't she lose her mother?" he asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I didn't ask how it happened but when I asked Bethany where her mommy was, she told me that she was in heaven and that she could still see her. She didn't even seem fazed by the question. It was no different than if I had asked her who Barbie loved."'

"I can't remember where but I read somewhere that all children take to death differently. Some start behaving differently while others just happen to not react at all. They don't know that death is permanent and inevitable. As far as we know, Bethany could think her mom is just on a vacation and will be back any day."

"Should I try to explain it to her?"

"It would probably be best to leave things as they are for right now. She seems happy."

I smiled up at him. "Thanks, Edward."

"It's why I'm here," he chuckled. "Have you thought about what you're doing with her for the funeral?"

_The funeral_. I hadn't even thought of where Bethany would go? I couldn't possibly take her with me to a funeral; she was only four years old. She wouldn't understand any of it.

"I hadn't even thought of that," I gasped. "I guess I'll have to stay home with her."

"You could bring her over to my house," he volunteered. "While I would like to be there, I didn't know Jacob all too well and you deserve to be there much more than I do. Just bring her over to my house on your way and I can keep her."

"Edward, are you sure? That's a big responsibility. I mean, I barely know her myself. What is something goes wrong?"

"Then we'll take care of it. Please, consider it Bella. I wouldn't want to do anything more," he smiled crookedly and right then and there, I agreed to let him keep Bethany for the funeral.

For the remainder of the day, we all kept a low profile at the house. Edward had taken it upon himself to prepare dinner for the four of us and a child's meal for Bethany. I couldn't help but feel the smallest bit selfish as I smiled and laughed with my closest friends.

"Thank you so much for everything," I said to everyone as they were preparing to leave. Bethany had fallen asleep on the couch not long after dinner and she hadn't made a noise ever since. "I wouldn't be able to do this without you guys, so I really appreciate it. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."

I said the final goodbyes and shut the door behind them as they left. The only sound that could be heard in my house was Bethany's quiet snores.

"Come here," I said quietly, lifting her from the couch. Realizing I didn't have a bed for her, I placed her in mine. She stirred slightly as I placed the blankets around her but luckily, she didn't wake up.

"Jacob," I whispered, closing my eyes and lying on the bed as the wind whistled.

Staring at Bethany as she slept, my thoughts kept reverting back to Jacob. Maybe finding Bethany had been fates way of keeping me together and not some cruel joke as I had thought just yesterday. I had been angry that I had been given this responsibility, but now I couldn't have been more grateful.

I stared at her sleeping form until I finally fell asleep.

The next morning, I was up bright and early with Bethany. After bathing her and preparing breakfast, I sat her in my bedroom before the TV while I took my shower. After I was showered and dressed, I packed a bag of toys and cups for Bethany and left the house.

"Where are we going?" she inquired as we drove to Edward's house. She looked out the windows curiously as the trees whizzed by.

"I have to go somewhere so you're going to stay with Mr. Edward for a little while. Is that alright?"

"…yeah," she answered quietly.

"Its just for a little while. I promise."

She didn't say a word for the rest of the ride but cried silently when I dropped her off. I did my best to get out of there as quick as I could have before her silent crying turned into a fit of rage. She simply glared at me as I drove away.

"But the just man, though he die early, shall be at rest," the priest read as the funeral crowd stood under the ashen sky and light drizzle. With a tear stained face and heavy heart I listened intently as he spoke of Jacob.

I could feel people staring at me even from behind and—though I normally would have—I didn't care. I wanted them to stare. I wanted them to know that I had only been married to Jacob for a week. I wanted them to see me grieve.

Jacob's father Billy was by far the most grief stricken. He sat in his wheelchair, sobbing quietly. His face was covered with his hands as if he didn't want to be seen by those around him. Seeing Billy cry only made it harder for me to keep my composure

And just seconds later, I _did _lose it.

I clapped my hand over my mouth as I coughed up a sob. I was quickly blinded by the own tears that were forming in my eyes.

"Bella?" Alice whispered, resting her hand on my back. "Are you alright?"

I shook my head and quickly walked away from the crowd. The sobs became harder to fight back and I finally fell to my knees behind a large headstone that hid me from the funeral crowd.

"Bella," Emmett breathed, appearing with Alice and Rosalie. "Bells, are you alright?"

"He's gone," I sobbed, almost to the point of hyperventilating. "I'll never see him again. Jacob is gone forever. How am I going to be able to handle this? I mean, I don't know how to be a mother! I'm 23 years old!"

I continued with my sobs and rants until the funeral crowd began to disperse. They walked by, staring at the four crying women and man. Billy didn't look twice at me as he was wheeled by by Jacob's older sister Rachel.

"I have to go," I eventually said. "Edward has Bethany and I need to get her home."

"Are you okay to drive?" Rosalie asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll meet you back at the house."

Surprisingly, they let me go without a fight and I languidly drove over to Edward's house. I took my time driving down the roads, as I was still getting over my little crying episode. Once in Edward's driveway, I wiped away the smeared makeup on my face and went inside.

"What happened here?" I asked as I proceeded through the house. The toys I had packed for Bethany had been strewn about the house, broken and mangled beyond belief. The heads that had been pulled from the Barbie dolls bodies were almost unrecognizable. Almost all the hair had been cut from their heads and somebody had scribbled with sharpie all over their faces. "Edward?"

He appeared in the doorway appearing extremely frazzled. His copper hair was tousled and jaw taut. His lips formed a small frown.

"What happened here?" I cried.

"I didn't know what to do, Bella," he breathed, running his hands through his hair. "I mean, when you left…She just lost it. She started screaming and throwing her toys. She was out of control."

I bent down to pick up the cup that had toppled over. Apple juice poured along the tile floor.

"Where is she now?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"In my bedroom sleeping. I just tried holding her until she fell asleep and eventually, she just fell asleep. Bella it was quit frightening. Emmett and Alice had their temper tantrums when they were her age but nothing like this."

I ran my hands down my face and followed Edward into the bedroom where Bethany lay asleep on the bed. Her breathing was labored and her face still extremely flushed from crying. Every few seconds, a sob would escape her.

"Poor thing," I sighed, running my hands over her forehead. "Edward, I'm so sorry that she was like that. I had no idea that would happen. When were at home, she seems so calm."

Edward took a spot next to me on the bed as I continued eyeing her carefully. My heart broke at the pained expression that crossed her face. I didn't want to jostle her in fear of waking her up.

"I wonder what's going through her head," I sighed.

"Maybe this is her way of acting out," he explained.

I had no idea how to comfort a pained child. I wasn't even good at comforting a pained adult. I tended to stray away from those that needed help. But now, not only did I need the comfort, but so did the little girl that I had been given the responsibility of caring for.

"May-," I was stopped midsentence by one of the most beautiful voices I'd heard in quite some time.

Edward was singing.

_Beth, I hear you callin'__  
__But I can't come home right now__  
__Me and the boys are playin'__  
__And we just can't find the sound_

_Just a few more hours__  
__And I'll be right home to you__  
__I think I hear them callin'__  
__Oh, Beth what can I do__  
__Beth what can I do_

And just like that, the pained expression was finally replaced with one of peace.


	5. Everywhere I am there you'll be

**_I realize this story is a slow burn but who cares! I'm still gonna update as my way of saying thank you to those who actually take the time to read it! I don't know if the updates will be as frequent because after tonight, my week gets pretty hectic and I won't be around this weekend but I promise as soon as the opportunity arises, I'll try to update!_**

"Your voice is beautiful," I lilted, smiling lightly. "That was a nice song. Where'd it come from?"

"Well as I'm sure you know, back in high school, Emmett went through a very large _Kiss _phase. His entire sophomore year, he would go around singing their songs and moaning over the fact that he didn't have the same tongue as Gene Simmons," he chuckled. "Right before I left for Princeton, I got him a one of a kind poster of the band and you would have thought that I'd given him the world."

"That must have been right before I met him," I said, "I transferred into Forks High School my junior year and I met Emmett and Alice the first day and all he'd talked about was joining the football team. I think one of the first things he asked me was 'how does it feel to know the star football player?'"

I found myself smiling at the memory. Somehow, I had befriended the craziest set of twins at Forks High School and what surprised me even more was that six years later, I was able to call them my closest friends.

"That's also why I probably didn't see you," I realized. "You're three years older so you had already graduated and gone off to your Ivy League school by the time I came to Forks."

I shouldn't have been surprised that he'd attended such a prestigious school. Not only was the Cullen family immensely wealthy and beautiful, but they were also all extremely bright-each in different ways.

"Perhaps we could continue this conversation over coffee in my kitchen? I've been told I have the best brew around," he winked.

My heart suddenly seized and in the pit of my stomach, I felt something I knew for a fact that no recent widower should be feeling. Was my heart truly racing for a man that not only had I known for a week or so but a man that wasn't my husband. I found myself looking down at my sparkling wedding ring in reassurance that it was still there.

"Bella?" he asked, grabbing my attention.

"Yeah, yeah sorry about that," I sighed. "I should actually probably go. People are waiting for me at the house and they're supposed to meet Bethany."

He seemed a bit saddened by my rejection as I took a sleeping Bethany into my arms, collected the tattered toys and left the house.

The light drizzle had turned into a nasty downpour, so I covered Bethany and hurried out to the car. She awoke as I put her in her car seat, climbed into the passengers seat.

"Bella?" she asked sleepily. "Where are we going?"

"Home, baby," I answered as I pulled out of the driveway. "Were going to meet some new people."

"New people," she sighed.

I continued driving down the road, nearly blinded by the pouring rain. I could see no more than a few feet in front of the car and almost didn't notice the smoke rising from the hood.

"Shit," I cried, beating the steering wheel.

"That's a bad word," Bethany pointed out.

"_Shit, shit, shit," _I continued, ignoring Bethany as she continued chastising me. I knew nothing about cars so I continually revved the engine to no avail. I huffed loudly and walked to the hood the car, ignoring the fact that my dress and shoes were most likely ruined.

Alice wouldn't be too angry.

I looked over everything I possibly could but realized I was getting no where. Once again, I huffed and trudged back to the car, but as I was opening the door, my cell phone somehow slipped out and crashed onto the soaked pavement.

"_Shit," _I cursed again, bending down to pick up the phone. "Great. This is just great."

My phone was officially out of commission, not even bothering to turn on. After a couple of futile attempts at restarting it, I threw it on the ground in frustration.

"Bella?" Bethany wearied as I slipped back into the car, soaked to the bone. My dress clung to my body uncomfortably and water had formed a deep pool in my high heeled shoes. "Are you okay?"

"Were stuck," I sobbed, once again on the verge of tears. "Were gonna be here for a little bit, Bethany."

There was complete silence for a moment before she and I both broke out into unstoppable tears. I continued banging my head against the steering wheel, wishing for some sort of good luck to bestow itself upon me.

"I want my mommy," she sobbed. I sniffled loudly and climbed in the backseat with her.I unbuckled her from her car seat and held her as we both continued crying. "I want my mommy!"

"I know, I know," I consoled her, rocking her back and forth. I had been anticipating this from her since she'd been put into my custody but I had no idea that hearing her cry would be so utterly heartbreaking. It only made me want to cry harder. "Shh, shh."

We remained like that until there was a tapping at my window.

_Edward._

"Bella?" he asked through the window. I shot up quickly, showing him that I was in here. He opened the door immediately and gasped at my disheveled state. "Are you two alright?"

"Were stuck," Bethany answered for me sadly, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her shirt.

"Come on," he told us, opening the back door. I held Bethany in my arms as we climbed out of the car. He held up the umbrella and ran with us to his car. "Let's get you to the house and cleaned up."

I sat in the backseat of his luxurious car, holding Bethany to my chest. After making a brief phone call to towing company, he put they key in the ignition and drove off.

"How did you find us?" I asked sadly.

"I had a feeling that something was wrong so I hoped in my car and was going to drive over to the house but I never quite made it there, as you clearly see. The towing company will come to get your car, but for now, I'll take you back to the house where you can do as you chose."

I didn't object to his orders. I simply nodded and sat in silence until he pulled up to my house. Knowing most people from the funeral were still here, I nervously took Bethany's hand and walked inside.

As I had predicted, the entire house silenced when she, Edward and I appeared in my doorway, soaked to the bone. I sighed and held her hand tighter.

"Bella!" Alice suddenly exclaimed, rushing forward. She and Emmett looked more than relieved to see Bethany and I standing in the house. "What happened to you two? Why is Edward here?"

I couldn't say a word before she interrupted me, taking me into my bedroom to make me appear somewhat presentable. While Rosalie tended to Bethany, Alice worked on me, reapplying my makeup and slipping me into a new dress, all the while letting me explain just what had happened.

"She fell asleep," Rosalie explained, coming back into my bedroom. So much for introducing Bethany to her true family. "I think we should just let her stay like that. Bella, are you ready to talk to everyone?"

"Yeah," I sighed, dropping my shoulders. "Lets go."

She linked her arm through mine and walked with me out into the living room where all eyes were still upon me. Instead of cowering, I raised my chin and walked right over to where Billy sat.

"Hello, Bella," he said cordially.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I said sadly. "This is pretty hard for me but I can't even imagine it for you. Jacob was _so _amazing. "I would give anything to have him back."

"I think we all would."

I stood awkwardly, not sure of what to say to Jacob's father. We had always been civil around each other, but I'd never sat down to have an actual conversation with the man, though he was very close friends with my own father.

"Billy, I have something to tell you," I finally said, inhaling deeply. "Just give me one moment."

I walked over to the kitchen counter to retrieve the photo of Bethany that Lauren had given to me. In this photo in particular, she looked a great deal like Jacob. She smiled brightly while eating a popsicle under the bright summer sun. I held in my hands tightly before walking back over to Billy and handing him the photo.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"That's Bethany," I began. "I didn't even know up until a day or two ago but she is Jacob's daughter and somehow, I'm taking care of her."

My heart broke at the tears welling in his eyes as he looked at the picture. I even saw a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"She's beautiful," he grinned, looking up at me. "Is she here?"

"Well she's asleep right now. But, I promise that you can come see her whenever you like."

"Wow," he breathed. "She looks just like him. He never even told me he was with somebody."

"Me either," I laughed without humor. "In the short time that I've known her, I've come to find that she is pretty wonderful. She has a lot of that Jacob fire in her."

The rest of the crowd suddenly surrounded us, marveling at the picture in Billy's old hands. His sisters in particular were extremely overjoyed at the news of Bethany, already going through the endless possibilities of spoiling her.

"That's my job," Alice smirked as I joined my friends in the kitchen. "Well they took better to that than you thought they would. But now this means we'll have to share her." she puffed out her cheeks in normal Alice fashion and turned towards the sink to wash more of the dishes.

"Thank you for picking us up," I thanked Edward quietly. "Who knows how long she and I could have been there. We could have been there for a lot longer if you hadn't of showed up, so once again, thank you."

"It's really no problem," he grinned crookedly causing my heart to do another back flip. "I would do it again if I was given the opportunity."

A light blush crept across my cheeks so I turned my head to assist with the dishes.

After the crowd had gone home and the house had been cleaned up, I was finally alone. It took a little urging to get Alice and the others to leave but after a good deal of reluctance, they finally left the house.

Bethany was still asleep so I took this as an opportunity to crack open the carton of ice cream and watched the happiest movie I could find. But, this didn't last long at all until Bethany appeared before me.

"Hey sleepyhead," I smiled. "Have you slept enough today?"

She nodded and climbed into my lap. By the way she glanced down at the open container of ice cream, I was gathering that she wanted some so I pulled out a spoonful and watched as she happily licked it clean.

"Can we watch _Angelina?" _she asked me. I spotted the DVD in the cabinet and lifted myself off of the couch to place in the DVD player.

"Bethany, are you hungry?"

She nodded slowly.

I walked to the kitchen and began preparing a child friendly meal. I watched her keenly as she became enthused in the musical, animated show flashing different colors across her face. I didn't even want to mention what had happened while she'd been at Edwards because seeing her as calm as she was now was beautiful.

But deep down inside, I knew this wouldn't last. They would find at least some kind of family for her and she would be taken away. Would any of us be able to handle it when it does happen? It seems kind of inevitable.

"Here you go," I said, setting the plate of chicken in front of her. "But be careful."

And for the rest of the day, we sat on the couch, watching meaningless cartoons and eating the unhealthiest food that could be found.

The next day, I woke up realizing that I needed a job. With Jacob the sole supporter in our relationship, I hadn't really needed to work but since I was no longer responsible for just me, I decided to get Bethany out of bed bright and early and take her to Alice's using Jacob's small rabbit that had been in the garage since before the wedding

"Okay so the last time I dropped her off somewhere, it didn't go so well. But she seems to really like you so you should be okay," I said to Alice as I stood with her at her front door. Bethany's reaction to being dropped off with Alice seemed much more promising then yesterday when she'd stayed with Edward. "I got a call this morning that the furniture is being delivered around one or two so I should be back by then."

"Bye!" Bethany said enthusiastically as I waved to her and Alice and left the house.

With the newspaper in my possession, I began my search for the right job, which I had no idea would take me all over town. I drove from job offer to job offer, just trying to find the right location. It wasn't until I found a small art shop.

"Hi," I said to the young, honey haired man at the counter. "I'm looking for a job and I saw in the paper that you're hiring a new cashier. Could I apply?"

"Ma'am," he said in a sweet, southern accent. "We've had this position open for months now. I'll hire you right here."

"Really?" I gasped. "That would be just amazing. When could I start?"

"Well you could start now," he grinned, holding out a hand. "I'm Jasper. Jasper Hale. Pleasure to meet you. I'm the manager here."

"Bella," I smiled, returning the handshake. "I'll start immediately but could I use your phone to call my friend and let her know that I'll be booked all day?"

He nodded and I breathed a sigh of relief as I called Alice to inform her that she would be keeping Bethany longer than I had anticipated and that I would need her to return home for the delivery of the furniture. Of course the news of my job had made her squeal but she was also ecstatic that she would get to design Bethany's room the way she probably had planned.

It seemed like all of yesterdays bad luck had been nothing but a terrible dream.


	6. When it snows, ain't it thrillin?

**Sorry this took so long to get out! It was supposed to be different but that got deleted and then I was low in spirits but I'm back and if I didn't clarify before, Jess was Bethany's mother. I can't remember if I said it was Angela before but if I did, its not. Haha also, sorry this is so short..**

In the coming weeks, I continued working while Alice and Rosalie took turns watching out for Bethany. My grief for Jacob was slowly lessening and I found myself growing closer with everyone around me, including Edward. He would often make visits with Emmett or Alice and each time I found myself feeling sad, somehow, those two would make it all better.

We even received a visit from Ms. Lauren and while Bethany saw it as a friendly visit, I knew what Lauren was truly there for.

"So how are you doing, Bella?" Lauren had asked me as we sat down at my kitchen table. I had just put Bethany down for a nap and both Lauren and I had taken that as a good opportunity to talk about what needed to be talked about.

"I've been doing better than I thought I would be," I told her, sipping my coffee. "Bethany is so happy that you're here."

"Well I'm happy to see her," she smiled. "How is Bethany? Does she ask about her mom?"

"She has a couple times. It hasn't happened in a while but sometimes, she'll throw temper tantrums asking for her to come home but after its over and done with, she is completely fine. Its actually kind of weird."

She nodded and jotted something down on her paper. I nodded also and continued speaking as Lauren continued asking me questions.

"Now," she cleared her throat. "I have an important question to ask you and you are in no rush to answer, alright?"

"Alright," I answered nervously.

"Adoption."

I hadn't mentioned that conversation to even my closest friends. I was still reeling from the fact that I had even been asked the question. I tried to take my mind off of the matter with work and looking after Bethany but it wasn't always successful. Like Jacob, my mind would wonder back to it when my world would finally quiet down.

Which rarely happened.

"Bella?" I heard a small voice whisper one morning. Without even opening my eyes, I knew I would just find Bethany sitting atop my chest, her bed-head wild but eyes wide. "Bella, wake up."

"Five more minutes," I moaned playfully.

"No!" she suddenly cried excitedly. "You have to come look outside!"

Slowly, I opened my eyes to see her grinning wildly. She jumped happily before hopping off of the bed and pulling me up by my hand. Protesting slightly, I dragged my feet as she dragged me out into the living room.

"Snow!" she exclaimed, pointing to the window. My eyes shot open at the sight of a blanket of white draped over my entire backyard. Not even a small piece of grass rose above the snowy cover. "Can we play in it? Please, please, please."

"Why don't I call everyone and they can come over and play with us?" I asked with a smile.

"Yeah!" she exploded, placing her hand on the knob.

"Not yet," I laughed, lightly moving her away from the door. "Let me make some breakfast first and make the calls. Go sit at the table and I'll be in there in a minute."

I made the phone calls to Edward, Alice, Emmett and Rosalie and excitedly told them about our snow filled morning. They all happily agreed to come over right away and I swore that when I told Emmett, I heard his door slam and his car engine roar.

"They're all coming," I told Bethany as I entered the kitchen. She sat at the bar, waiting as I pulled a Flintstones vitamin from the container, set it on her placemat and began breakfast. She watched with eager eyes as I prepared the pancakes and shoveled them into her mouth as soon as they were set on her plate.

"They're here!" she exclaimed when the doorbell rang. With a mouthful of food, she hopped from the chair and ran to the door. "Emmett!"

"Hey kid," he grinned, swooping her into his arms. The rest of them piled into the house, bundled in their weather wear. Alice of course was gorgeous in her designer coat and beanie cap. There wasn't a moment when she _wasn't _gorgeous. "Can we go play now?"

"Yeah," Bethany pleaded, pouting childishly.

"Well I have to put your winter stuff on," I said quickly before she and Emmett could make a mad dash for the backdoor. Rosalie and Alice immediately volunteered to bundle her up in all the clothes that they'd purchased for her and as he always did, Emmett followed where Rosalie led.

"Good morning Bella," Edward smiled, pulling me into a tight hug. I'd lately been finding myself wishing these hugs lasted longer than they truly did. "Are you ready for the snow?"

"Ha," I laughed lightly, puffing out my cheeks. "Small children go crazy in this stuff. I mean, we all used to love it. I still kind of do."

"We all do," he grinned crookedly, slowly moving closer.

"Okay Bella!" Bethany exclaimed, running into the kitchen bundled up in her winter clothes. I couldn't help but laugh at how adorable she looked in her pink and white gear. Her pink coat puffed out from her chest and the white scarf was wrapped loosely around her neck. The pale pink hat hugged her head but still allowed the dark curls to cascade down her shoulders. "Let's go! Go get ready!"

"I'm going," I cried happily, walking into my bedroom.

Once I prepared myself, I joined the others in the living room and followed them as we proceeded into the backyard. Bethany laughed loudly and threw herself down into the pile of the snow.

"Snow-print tag!" Emmett exclaimed, causing Rosalie and I to look upon him in confusion. I don't think she nor I had ever even heard of the game. Alice and Edward seemed to know what it was. "Come on! You don't know what the game is?"

We both shook our heads. He sighed loudly but still looked at us with that cheesy, Emmett grin.

"Its just like tag but you can only step in each others foot prints."

"Let's do it!" Bethany squealed. Knowing none of us were able to deny Emmett and Bethany when they were alone, let alone together, we agreed to a game of snow-print tag.

It turned out fun but challenging. Emmett and Bethany came to the conclusion that you were dubbed 'it' if you failed to make a step not in the foot print of someone else. The game lasted for a good while before Emmett and Bethany decided we need a good old fashioned snowball fight.

"Edward and I are team captains," Emmett volunteered quickly. "And my first pick is Bethany."

"Yes!" She said in delight, high fiving Emmett as she joined his side.

"Bella," Edward said. I shook my head as I laughed lightly and stood by his side. Rosalie was Emmett's next pick and Alice begrudgingly joined Edward and I. "Alice, don't be so sour because you were picked last."

"I'm not," she shrugged, jutting out her lip and standing up straight. "Let's just win this fight."

"You got it, little sister," Edward grinned, pounding his fist with Alice. He turned to me with that same grin. "We've got this."

And so, the snowball fight began. Edward and I ran separate directions while Alice hid behind one of my large trees that Jacob and I had planted. It was an all out brawl as snowballs flew all through my yard. Eventually, Edward and I came together, rapidly making and throwing snowballs. Bethany had the advantage of sitting atop Emmett's shoulders while Rosalie stayed hidden as she perfectly crafted the snowballs.

"You win!" We finally forfeited.

"Yay!" Emmett exclaimed, throwing his arms over his head in victory. He, Rosalie and Bethany showed a small victory dance. They resembled the perfect family you would normally see on a holiday card. "Now, let's make us a killer snow man!"

And so, each person found a way of helping with the construction of our towering snow man. Bethany and I rolled the bottom while Emmett and Rosalie rolled the head and Edward and Alice the mid section.

"He needs a carrot nose," Bethany told us. "I know where they are! I'll go get it!"

We watched her as she ran into the house to retrieve the nose but became nervous when she took longer than she should have.

"Bethany?" I cried, dashing into the house, only to find her by the front door with an elderly couple. "Can I help you?"

"It's my grandma and grandpa!"

"Mrs. Stanley," the woman smiled, holding out a hand for me to shake. Instead of grabbing it, my friends and I stood frozen, unsure of what to do.


	7. In My Arms

"What's going on?" Edward asked, entering the house with the others following behind. He placed his hand on my shoulder protectively as they all began to circle around me.

"Hello," Mrs. Stanley smiled, extending a hand. "I'm Mrs. Stanley, Jessica's mother. Mr. Stanley and I just wanted to come by and have a little visit with Bella and to see Bethany. Are you her husband?"

"No," I said quickly before he could open his mouth to speak. Shaking off her question, I sighed inwardly and fought the tears forming behind my eyes. "These are my friends."

Her face showed surprise.

"Oh," she said. "Well how nice of them to be here."

"We should probably go," Alice said, saying what the others felt they couldn't. I nodded and bid goodbyes to them all as they walked out the door. Before I knew it, it was just the Stanley's and I standing by my front door.

"Would you like some coffee?" I finally asked, walking into the kitchen.

"No thank you," she answered, looking around the open living room area. I prepared myself a cup and took a seat at the table, just as they did the same.

I looked nervously to Bethany's bedroom door. A part of me knew the reason as to why the Stanley's were sitting at my kitchen table and I didn't need Bethany in close range.

"Why are you here?" I asked in a clipped tone. "Actually, how do you even know who I am or where I lived?"

"We made a few phone calls and they put us in contact with Bethany's social worker," Mr. Stanley answered.

"Were here to discuss Bethany's wellbeing," Mrs. Stanley told me. My grip on the coffee cup tightened as I braced myself for what I was about to hear. "We are very, very saddened by the sudden death of her daughter and we would have been here sooner but we've been on safari for weeks and there was no way that we could have been contacted. Imagine our surprise when we come home to find that our daughter is dead and our granddaughter in the custody of some stranger."

"I love that child dearly," I hissed.

"And you know as well as I do that she shouldn't be living with a young woman who has no experience in motherhood."

"And you do?" I spat.

"I raised my Jessica right and to do the right thing. When she got pregnant, it came as a shock to all of us but she decided to raise it, as any woman should do. Now we never met the man that got her pregnant and we have no intentions of doing so…"

"That man was my husband and that man died weeks ago," the tears were unstoppable. "He was the kindest, most caring man I'd ever known. I was surprised to find out that he had a daughter just moments after his death but I know that if Jacob had known about Bethany, he would've made an effort to be in her life."

I stood up from the table.

"I think you two need to leave my home," I pointed towards the front door. Mrs. Stanley exchanged a glance with her husband before standing up and walking towards the front door.

"Be expecting a call from my lawyers," she said to me as I opened the door. "Say your goodbyes to Bethany while you still have the opportunity because when this is all said and done, she will be ours."

"Goodbye," I repeated, watching as she appeared offended before leaving my house with her husband in tow.

I slammed the door shut, sighed loudly and turned around to walk back into the kitchen, only to find a teary eyed Bethany standing behind me.

"Bethany…"

"Am I gonna go live with grandma and grandpa?" she cried as her lip quivered. I shook my head and immediately took her into my arms.

"No, sweet heart," I promised her, holding her close. "You're gonna stay right here with me. You aren't going anywhere."

Although I didn't want to admit it, I had no idea as to whether or not she would stay here with me. 

"Edward, what can I do?" I said on the phone later that night. I'd already put Bethany down and my efforts at contacting Lauren proved futile. No matter how many times I called her, she wouldn't answer. "I can't lose her."

"Bella, you won't," he promised. "Now, I'm not saying this court case will be easy because most of the time, the judge does side with the blood relative. You just need a good lawyer to support you and I actually happen to know one…"

I smiled at him, though I knew he couldn't see it.

"Really?" I asked, feigning stupidity. "Who would that be?"

"Well I hear he is quite good and he wins a lot of cases," he chuckled. "In case you haven't caught on, its me."

"Edward, I can't ask you to do that. You're probably so busy and my case isn't even as big as some of the ones out there…"

"It's alright Bella," he promised. "I would love to take on this case. I can speak for all of our friends when I say that we love Bethany and we don't want to see her go and we love you too much to see you hurt so much again."

I couldn't argue with Edward. After so much conversation, I agreed to take him as my lawyer and that was the end of our conversation, as Bethany approached me just seconds earlier.

"Hi, baby," I smiled, wrapping my arms around her she took her spot on the sofa. "What are you doing up?"

"I had a bad dream," she said sadly, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "My momma was there and she was holding me but then, she just went bye and I was all alone."

"Oh, Bethany," I frowned, my heart breaking at the tears in her eyes. "Its okay. It was just a dream."

To me, the dream didn't sound so horrible but I could only imagine how awful that would seem to a four year old whose world had fallen apart right under her nose.

"Will I see her again?" she cried softly. "I miss her."

"Bethany," I sighed, unsure of how to explain what I needed and wanted to. "You know how in Sunday school, people go up to heaven?"

She nodded.

"Do you know why?" I continued. She shook her head. "Well, its because god needs them. He needs them to help him watch over all the little boys and girls like you and make sure your safe. That is exactly what your mom is doing right now. Someday, I promise, you will see her again."

Almost immediately, her face lit up. "Really? When is that?"

"I don't know," I shrugged with a smile. "It all depends on when god wants you. He has something special planned for everybody. Now, why don't I go tuck you back into bed so you aren't tired tomorrow when you see aunt Alice?"

"Okay," she agreed, hopping off the couch. With a smile, I followed the suddenly exuberant child to her bedroom. 

The next day, I unfortunately was stuck at work. As she normally did, Alice watched over Bethany while I was stuck running the counter at an art shop. Even through all of it, Jasper was nice company.

"What's on your mind, Bella?" Jasper suddenly asked as I restocked the paintbrushes. With the messy roads, business wasn't exactly booming. "You seem kind of down."

"Oh," I laughed lightly. "Its nothing really. Just stuff at-."

I was interrupted by the tingling bells of the front door and Bethany and Alice walking in with lunch. The ring of chocolate around her mouth and on her coat shocked me- as Alice was an extremely clean person.

"Hi, guys," I smiled, taking Bethany into my arms. "I see you had some chocolate?"

"Alice got me ice cream," she beamed.

"I couldn't resist," Alice chuckled, her gaze moving to Jasper and he stood at my side. "Who is this, Bella?"

"Oh!" I exclaimed, forgetting to introduce him. "Alice, this is my boss Jasper. Jasper, this is my best friend Alice. She watches Bethany during the day."

"Pleasure to meet you," he grinned, laying on the southern charm much more than he normally did. He kissed her extended hand and I watched as a wild blush covered Alice's cheeks. "Bella, you have very beautiful friends."

"Thank you," Alice chuckled in a way I'd never heard from her.


End file.
